Google Home to take on Amazon Echo

Google, the subsidiary of Alphabet, on Tuesday unveiled its voice-activated speaker powered by Google Assistant. The device which will take on Amazon Echo has been named Google Home. Using your voice, it can turn up the music, get answers to a myriad of questions, manage tasks around the house, and even adjust the thermostat or lights.

Google announced Google Home along with the much awaited launch of Pixel, the first 'Made by Google' phone. The other launches of the day include Daydream - platform for high quality mobile VR, Google Wi-Fi system and Chromecast Ultra - the new Chromecast with 4K and HDR support.

Some of the features of Google home include:

1. Voice control

With a simple “Ok Google” you can play songs, artists, radio stations, your favorite playlists and more from Google Play Music, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn and YouTube Music. If you just want to stream audio directly from your phone, you can cast music to Google Home from 100+ Chromecast-enabled apps on your Android or iOS device.

Google Home’s smart audio design integrates a high-excursion driver with a dual passive radiator design that delivers crystal-clear highs and deep lows for Hi-Fi sound that streams over WiFi. That means a lot of big sound from a small package. Even while you jam out to music, it can easily hear you from across the room, thanks to two omnidirectional microphones and neural beamforming.

2. Answering queries

Google Home taps into the power of Google Search to give you real-time answers to things you want to know. Ask Google Home to translate phrases and do simple math calculations. You can also get real-time info on the weather, the stock market, the traffic, or your favorite sports team. Google Home can also help you find answers to more obscure questions directly on the web. It’s all the power of Google with a simple voice command.

3. Daily tasks

With your permission, Google Home makes helpful information easily accessible. Check your calendar or even pull up your flight information. You can also say, “Tell me about my day” to hear curated personal information that helps you navigate your day. You can ask it to wake you up in the morning, set kitchen timers, and keep track of your shopping list.

4. Home automation

With Google Home, you can control devices around the house. Play and control music on your speakers that have Chromecast Audio plugged in or Chromecast built-in. Or stream videos to a TV equipped with Chromecast. Popular apps like Netflix and Google Photos will be supported in the near future. You can also control your lights, thermostats and switches with popular home automation systems like Philips Hue, Nest, Samsung SmartThings and IFTTT — with more coming soon.

5. Design

Device top has a clean, minimal design that has no buttons and hidden LED lights. It features a capacitive touch surface for those rare moments when voice won’t do. You can customize the base with different colors and finishes (metal and fabric, sold separately) to your personal taste.

Home of Google Home(s)

You can build up a team of Google Home devices to blast the same tune in every room with Multi-room (you can also group with Chromecast Audio or Chromecast built-in speakers too). Having more than one device doesn’t mean they will all respond when you say “Ok Google.” If they have the same user account, only the closest one responds.

Google Home is not yet available in India.